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Science 2 December 2005:
Vol. 310. no. 5753, pp. 1490 - 1492
DOI: 10.1126/science.1119419
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Reports

Restoration of Auditory Nerve Synapses in Cats by Cochlear Implants

D. K. Ryugo,1,2*{dagger} E. A. Kretzmer,2* J. K. Niparko1

Congenital deafness results in abnormal synaptic structure in endings of the auditory nerve. If these abnormalities persist after restoration of auditory nerve activity by a cochlear implant, the processing of time-varying signals such as speech would likely be impaired. We stimulated congenitally deaf cats for 3 months with a six-channel cochlear implant. The device used human speech-processing programs, and cats responded to environmental sounds. Auditory nerve fibers exhibited a recovery of normal synaptic structure in these cats. This rescue of synapses is attributed to a return of spike activity in the auditory nerve and may help explain cochlear implant benefits in childhood deafness.

1 Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins University Center for Hearing and Balance, 720 Rutland Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
2 Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University Center for Hearing and Balance, 720 Rutland Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.

* These authors contributed equally to this work.

{dagger} To whom correspondence should be addressed: dryugo{at}bme.jhu.edu

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Cochlear Implants Stimulate Activity-Dependent CREB Pathway in the Deaf Auditory Cortex: Implications for Molecular Plasticity Induced by Neural Prosthetic Devices.
J. Tan, S. Widjaja, J. Xu, and R. K. Shepherd (2008)
Cereb Cortex 18, 1799-1813
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Will They Catch Up? The Role of Age at Cochlear Implantation in the Spoken Language Development of Children With Severe to Profound Hearing Loss.
J. G. Nicholas and A. E. Geers (2007)
J Speech Lang Hear Res 50, 1048-1062
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Activity-dependent regulation of synaptic strength and neuronal excitability in central auditory pathways.
B. Walmsley, A. Berntson, R. N. Leao, and R. E. W. Fyffe (2006)
J. Physiol. 572, 313-321
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)